Failure-Not in my vocabulary
by Steviee
Summary: Harry, Ron and Hermione- with the help of Dumbledore, Snape and The Malfoy's found and destroyed the horcruxes- ultimately defeating Voldemort in their 6th year as 16 year old teenagers. The Malfoy's went from being dark, to light but remained in the Manor as spies. Harry thinks everything will now be fine, but he's never been a great judge of character has he? G/G B/B B/G
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, me again! :D I really hope you enjoyed my last story 'No longer enemies.' It was a pleasure to write and I'm extremely grateful for all my followers and reviewers. You made me very happy and encouraged me to write another Harry/Draco fanfic! I absolutely love the pairing and I intend to write many more.**

**This story is called 'Failure-Not in my vocabulary.' I have no idea why, but I'm rubbish at naming things, and I intend to use the title somewhere in my story.**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter DOES NOT belong to me and I'm not making any profit from my stories. It is just my imagination running away with the fairies. The characters belong to the one and only JKR, but the storyline is mine. Story will contain slash (Boy/Boy, Girl/Girl) and hetrosexual couples. I swear an awful lot too, so sorry about that! :D**

**Brief overview:**

**Voldemort was killed at the end of Harry's 6th year. The Golden Trio had been told about the Horcruxes after the battle in the Ministry and had begun hunting them with the help of Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall and the Malfoy's.**

**The Malfoy's went from being on the dark side, to the light side but were spies for Dumbledore, so not many people trust them, same as Snape.**

**Fred, Snape and Dumbledore didn't die. Moody, Tonks, Lupin, Sirius and the others did. Sorry :( including Crabbe who died in the 6th year version of the final battle. **

**And that's all you need to know for now! Hehe. Oh, except the group are now entering 7th year. **

**You'll find out more as the story progresses, but I'll warn you that some of the characters aren't what they're like in the books. Enjoy! :D**

**P.S before Harry/Draco there will be other pairings. **

'Failure-Not in my vocabulary- Chapter one.'

'I really can't see why we have to go back to that bloody school tomorrow.' Ron groaned from his bed. 'As heroes, I'm sure we won't ever have to work, and even by chance we did, they'll just hand us a job on a plate. Whatever we wanted to do, we could do!'

'Shut up Ron.' Harry grumbled back. He was actually quite excited to get back to Hogwarts although he would never admit that to his best mate.

'You know it's true. You especially.' Ron retorted, with a smug grin. He KNEW he was right and he knew that Harry knew that he was right.

'I don't care. Don't let 'Mione overhear you saying that, she'd d kill you.' Harry replied with a raised eyebrow. Ron was really getting on his nerves now, all he ever did was moan. And eat. In fact, he was eating now even though he had JUST had a huge and delicious lunch, made by his forever cooking Mother.

'What could she do? Stun me?' Ron laughed. 'She could never have me in a physical fight. Plus, she loves me far too much to hurt me.'

'Oh, I don't know. That girls' got some power behind her.' He defended his best female friend, remembering the slap she'd given Malfoy in their 3rd year.

'Whatever, Harry.' The redhead replied with a malicious grin that didn't suit his broad features. 'Wanna play some one-on-one Quidditch? I'm so fucking bored.'

'Sure.' Harry said with a sigh. He didn't really want to do anything with Ron when he was in this kind of mood. The youngest male Weasley was at best stubborn and arrogant and at worse selfish and spiteful. He was in one of his 'worse' moods and Harry wasn't particularly looking forward to their upcoming game. He also couldn't comprehend how sweet, kind and beautiful Hermione could have ever fallen in love with such a pillock.

They made their way out into the large, overgrown garden that Harry loved so much, grabbing their brooms on the way out. Harry gripped firmly onto his beloved Firebolt with the feeling that Ron was going to try and slyly swap their brooms over. Or something equally as stupid. Everyone knew how much Ron coveted Harry's very fast and very expensive broomstick.

'Aw, Harry! Let's get a go on the Firebolt!' Ron said, much to Harry's amusement and a bit to his annoyance._ 'Just like clockwork.'_ He thought.

'No.' He responded smugly. 'It's mine.'

'Yeah I know, so you keep reminding me.' Ron muttered darkly.

'Don't be like that Won-Won!' Harry laughed cheerfully, using the name that his mate detested so much.

'Don't call me that!'

'Aw, I'm sorry Wonnie. Tell you what, you beat me to the Snitch and I'll let you ride the Firebolt for a whole 20 minutes.'

Harry thought he was being completely fair. Everyone knew that his Firebolt was his pride and joy and the only thing he wasn't generous with. He would lend out money to anyone who asked, but he very, very rarely lent out his broom.

'Well shit Harry! How very kind of you!' Ron replied sarcastically.

Harry just winked at his grumpy mate before mounting his broom and shooting up into the sky.

'Stupid prick.' Ron muttered under his breath. 'Fucking show off! Thinks he's better than everyone else! I'll show him the big-headed asshole.'

Harry didn't hear what Ron had said, but he noticed that the red-head's face had darkened and he knew for sure a storm was brewing.

_'Uh oh__h!'_ He thought.

He could tell a mile off that he had put Ron in a foul mood because of his lack of broom generosity and he was now worried that despite being the better flyer, Ron was going to find a way to knock Harry out of the sky or injure him in some way.

He watched Ron release the Quidditch balls from their box and gave them a minute to start circulating the pitch. The Quaffle was left on the ground, in the middle so that the two boys could try and grab it before the other. The lack of Referee made chucking the ball in the air, extremely hard.

'I've enchanted the Bludgers to chase us, as usual.' Ron called as he mounted his broom. 'Normal rules apply. You need to act as chaser as well as seeker. Think you can keep up?'

'Course! Score points, avoid Bludgers and catch Snitch.'

'On your marks...' Ron shouted.

'Get set...' Harry replied.

'GO!' They called together. They both went shooting towards the ground, both eager to get the Quaffle first. Ron won it and began flying towards the makeshift goal, only to be 'bumped' by Harry, causing him to drop the large red ball right into Harry's eagerly waiting hands.

'Fuck!' Ron shouted.

Harry just laughed and shot towards the goal. He narrowly dodged a Bludger and threw the Quaffle through the hoop. Ron cursed again as Harry done a celebratory circle of the garden.

The game went on for a good hour and the score was 100-110 to Ron. The game was no longer fun, and both boys had adopted their serious looks. Usually reserved for a game against the Slytherins. The Bludgers became more and more brutal and Harry had been hit on the collarbone and Ron's leg looked a bit limp. The raven-haired teen had no idea what spell Ron had cast, but it most certainly wasn't the normal charm they used.

Harry had just about caught the Snitch when Molly Weasley came charging out into the garden, he face not unlike her angry Son.

'RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! HARRY JAMES POTTER! IF YOU TWO AREN'T ON THE GROUND WITHIN THE NEXT 10 SECONDS I'M GOING TO PERSONALLY COME UP THERE AND BREAK THOSE GODFORSAKEN BROOMS!'

'Shit!' The both muttered as they descended slowly, landing on the solid ground. Molly aimed a spell and destroyed both Bludgers with just a flick of her wand.

Ron flinched and Harry bit his lower lip.

'Look at the state of you!' She cried, her anger forgotten for a moment as she surveyed the two Gryffindors.

It was only then, both boys really felt the extent of their injuries. They were both so intent on beating each other they hadn't realized they were covered in blood and bruises. Harry wiped some blood and sweat off his forehead and tried to smile weakly at the Weasley Matriarch.

'I told you both that you need to stop this. These one-on-one Quidditch games are becoming far too dangerous. I can only do so much but we may have to go to St. Mungo's.'

Harry sighed as he clutched his collarbone and Ron limped on, refusing Harry's good arm for support. Mrs. Weasley tried to fix her two youngest boys but only succeeded in taking some of the pain away, so she used the floo to send the three of them to the Wizard hospital. She managed to keep her levitation spell intact so the two invalids wouldn't hurt themselves further by falling out of the large, and ornate fireplace. She knew how clumsy her foster Son was, and Ron couldn't really walk, let alone floo safely to their destination.

* * *

><p>The two friends had been fixed up within 20 minutes of entering the hospital and they were marched down the hallway by a furious Molly, who had resumed her angry tirade as soon as she knew they were both going to survive.<p>

'You really need to stop this. Your competitiveness is going to get you both killed. You must understand... Oh!' Mrs. Weasley was abruptly cut off as a horde of angry looking Wizards rudely pushed passed her and into the room they just walked by. They didn't notice Harry, which surprised the teen. But he really didn't mind, he hated the attention and these guys looked like they were out for blood.

'What the hell is going on!' He gasped as he was suddenly pushed aside by a tall and very well built security guard. Several more followed him, all with their wands drawn.

The trio heard a cry of pain and before the wounded sound was drowned out by shouts of 'Expelliarmus', 'Stupefy' and 'Incancerous'. Harry, forever the hero, drew his wand and charged in the second he heard someone was being hurt.

He threw some light curses at one of the offenders before he was yet again shoved aside by the large guard.

'You shouldn't be in...' He began, before seeing Harry's lightning bolt scar. 'Oh Merlin!' He gasped.

Harry smiled inside, before sending a 'Stupefy' over the guard's shoulder, knocking over a scrawny brown haired man. Harry recognised the man as a boy from school, but couldn't quite but a name to the face.

'Shit! Sorry!' The older man cried before spinning on his heel, and checking all the offenders were down before making sure his men were okay and unharmed.

'All okay?' He shouted.

All the others replied with a hasty 'Yes, Sir!' before dragging the bound bodies out of the room. Harry turned around to find the source of the cry of pain, only to to see a very badly beaten Draco Malfoy. He stood staring, unable to move and completely tongue-tied.

'OUT OF THE WAY!' An elderly Healer screamed as he pushed his way through the doors. He flew to Draco's bedside and immediately shouted for help. Harry still couldn't do anything other than stand there and stare at his arch-rival.

'Malfoy?' He whispered.

Draco didn't answer. He didn't open his eyes and he made no movement whatsoever. Molly ran into the room, looking flustered and worried.

'Harry, Dear. You shouldn't be in here. This is a private room.' She whispered gently after seeing Harry's shocked expression. She gasped softly when she saw the youngest Malfoy and took Harry's hand and dragged him out.

'What the hell happened to him?'

Molly didn't answer, but Ron demanded to know what was going on.

'Who?'

'Doesn't matter.' Harry hastily replied, knowing what Ron's reaction would be.

'Tell me. Who?'

Harry sighed. 'Malfoy has been beaten unconscious. He looks awful. Who the hell done this to him? And how the hell did they get in?'

Ron laughed. 'Good. Serves the fucking Ferret right! I'll give my lifetime savings to meet the guy who done it!'

'Ron!' Harry and Molly gasped in unison.

'What? He's a dirty, slimy Slytherin.' Ron shrugged.

'Language young man!' Molly fumed. 'You're not too old to be grounded you know!'

Ron shrugged again. 'He deserves everything he gets.'

'He helped us win the War.' Harry said coldly. He had no idea why, but he was majorly pissed off at Ron's dismissal of Draco's condition.

'His Father also helped to start it.'

'Yeah, well Draco isn't his Father. And Lucius helped to end it. Or don't you remember that?'

'What? You all pally pally with the Slytherins now?' Ron said, the anger creeping into his voice.

'Boys, calm down.' Molly demanded.

'No, I want to know why Harry is defending Draco Malfoy, the git that made our lives hell for the last 6 years!'

'He was a kid! Like we were, he's grown up a lot since our 1st year. You're being the git now!'

'Shut the fuck up Harry.' Ron hissed. He sidestepped his Mother and didn't hesitate punching Harry right in the nose, his anger finally getting the best of him. Harry fell to the ground and cracked his head on the cold marble of the hospital floor. He struggled to sit up, and when he did he saw red and rugby tackled Ron's legs so the redhead also fell over with a loud thud.

He grabbed a handful of Ron's flame coloured hair and smashed his head against the floor.

'FUCK YOU!' He screamed in Ron's face as he forced his mates head against the floor again. Ron struggled to get his hands free, and when he did he spat in Harry's face and headbutted Harry so hard, the raven-haired boy felt his nose crack again.

Harry could feel the tears falling out of his eyes, but he refused to let that stop him. He bought his knee up and blindly aimed for Ron's groin, eventually kneeing him where it hurt. Ron hobbled backwards just as Molly came to her senses and used her wand to separate the two boys. They both landed on their asses after flying about 10ft in opposite directions.

She had no words for what had just transpired in front of her eyes. She was crying at the obvious loss of her two youngest boys' friendship. Even though Harry wasn't biological hers, he would always be her Son. No matter what, he was always welcome in their home. Plus, she knew Ron was in the wrong and she had no idea what had come over him. Yes, he didn't like Malfoy's, or any Slytherins for that matter and he had a reckless temper that got him into trouble, but she had never seen him turn against his own friends.

She went to help them both up when she noticed Harry was gone.

* * *

><p>Harry had apparated back to the Burrow, something that was meant to be impossible due to the anti-apparition wards on St. Mungo's and the Weasley home. He didn't even notice that he had just done something incredible as he was so angry. The fury radiated off him in waves, and everything around him was shaking. He stomped upstairs to his room and slammed it behind him so hard, it almost fell off it's hinges.<p>

He packed everything into his school trunk and shrunk it so he could put it in his pocket, and then hurried to the bathroom to try and clean his face. His nose hurt like hell and he wished Hermione was there to fix it for him.

He muttered darkly to himself as he cleaned up and changed his clothes, he managed to fix his glasses before grabbing his invisibility cloak and walking out of the house, leaving no trace that he had just spend most of the summer holidays there.

He felt bad that he was leaving his family with no note or explanation but he hoped Mrs. Weasley would understand that he couldn't stay there with Ron any longer. He would never expect them to choose him over his ex-best friend and he wouldn't want them too, but it still hurt that he probably wouldn't be able to visit anymore.

He reached the edge of the wards and apparated to Muggle London where he used a simple disillusionment spell to make himself look different. Instead of his emerald green eyes and raven black hair, he had soft blue eyes and dirty blonde locks. He couldn't do much about his glasses, but at least his scar was no longer visible. He stood at the same height and he didn't know a spell to change his body so he just pocketed his wand and went strolling down the streets of London.

He ate at a small, shabby cafe and rented a room above a dark, dank pub near Trafalgar Square. Thankfully he still had some Muggle money from when he and Ron visited Hermione at her Muggle home. He watched some T.V while he led in bed and contemplated how the day had turned out.

_'What the hell is wrong with him?'_ He thought to himself. _'He's been acting odd all day, becoming angry at the smallest of things, and the things he said about 'Mione? That is not like him at all, is it?' _

Harry thought hard. He realized he HAD noticed small changes in Ron. They way he sometimes treated Hermione, Ginny and Molly. The way he would would play pranks on those younger than him. Yeah, the twins performed their tricks on youngsters, but for them it would be a laugh and they would never intentionally hurt anyone. If someone got hurt by one of Ron's pranks, he would laugh and dismiss them as being pansies and wussies.

What had gotten into him?

Harry eventually fell asleep with nothing but his thoughts. He dreamed of nothing that night and woke up around 8 o'clock. He hopped into the shower and enjoyed the downpour of burning hot water cascading down his broad, pale back. Harry tanned easily, but he would never go out into the sun without a shirt on, so he had golden brown hands, arms, legs and face but he had a lily white torso, back and ass.

He chuckled to himself as he caught a glimpse of said ass in the cracked mirror in the bathroom. He toweled himself dry and threw on a new pair of jeans and shirt he had bought in Diagon Ally over the summer. He had finally ditched Dudley's old clothes and he had treated himself to a completely new wardrobe of nicely flitting trousers, jeans, shorts and tops. He also bought himself new trainers and shoes and a pair of dragon-hide boots that gave his look a bit of an edge.

He hadn't wanted to go shopping but he had be forcibly dragged by Ginny, Hermione and Luna. He hadn't hated it, but he would have much rather done it alone. Things were still awkward between him and Ginny as they had split at the beginning of summer, after only being together for 6 months. They loved each other dearly, but more as Brother and Sister. Ginny had been heart-broken initially but she soon realized it was for the best and resumed her role of one of Harry's best girl mates.

Harry packed his belongings back into his trunk and yet again shrunk it so he could easily conceal it and made his way to Kings' Cross Station. He found the perfect apparition point and luckily ended up in an abandoned alleyway about 200 meters from the Station entrance. He used his cloak to get onto his platform without being noticed and found an empty compartment. He saw Ron and Hermione board the train, followed by Ginny, Seamus, Dean, Neville and Luna.

They were his friends, but he couldn't face them at that moment. So he turned away from the window and stared at the door. He knew Ron had probably spun up a load of shit about him, but he didn't really care. The papers have been making lies up about him for the last few years, so he was used to it.

He was just getting comfy when the compartment was entered by Malfoy's Slytherin friends. He considered making himself known but he couldn't be bothered by the drama that would unfurl after so he hastily climbed onto the luggage rail and squashed himself into a corner.

'It feels weird not being here with Draco.' Pansy Parkinson said reverently.

'Yeah right, I've not heard from him for a few weeks. Hope he's okay.' Blaise Zabini answered, almost carelessly. Theo Nott nodded. 'Me neither. I think he's making his own way to the castle. No idea why, his Father didn't mention it when I bumped into him in Diagon.'

Goyle just sat there looking gormless, staring out of the window. He missed Crabbe far too much and he could barely function without him.

Harry felt something akin to guilt in the pit of his stomach. He knew why Draco wasn't on the Express, and his own friends didn't, there was something wrong with that.

'I miss him.' Pansy said wistfully.

'We all do.' Blaise said. He and Draco were best friends, well, as friendly as Slytherins can get with each other.

'How do you think this year will turn out?' Theo asked the others.

'Not great, everyone hates us even though we haven't done anything wrong. We're going to get a lot of shit from the other houses, especially Gryffindor.' Blaise replied.

'Except Potter.' Goyle piped up.

The three others looked at him.

'He's too good a person to actively hurt us. He might not stop the others from bullying, but I'm sure he won't do anything himself. It's his obvious 'hero' complex.'

Blaise looked thoughtful. 'I think you're right, Goyle. For once.' He added with a small snicker. Goyle didn't even blink at the obvious insult. 'I personally never had a problem with Potter, it was him verses Draco. Always was. In fact, my Mother quite likes him.'

'Why?' Pansy asked.

Blaise shrugged. 'Not really sure, to be honest. I think she initially felt bad that his Parents died when he was a baby, but then the poor guy was bought up by magic hating Muggles and then to top it off there was all the lies that were all over the 'Prophet'. He's led a hard and hectic life and she believes he deserves some credit and I think she's right. He defeated the darkest Wizard of all time and he pretty much saved us all from being slaughtered or pushed into some sort of fucked up slavery ring.'

Pansy looked at the floor and she was trying not to cry. 'I feel so fucking awful. I basically tried handing him over to You-Know-Who, and all Potter was trying to do was save us, even the Slytherins, who bullied him and made his school-life hell for 6 years.'

Blaise placed his hand gently on Pansy's arm. 'You were scared. Stupid yes, but scared. We went through just as much shit as the other houses did, but the difference is nobody cared about what happened to us. Plus, we were silly kids with big mouths. That's how he'll look at it I reckon.'

For the first time since he hid on the luggage rail, Harry saw Pansy look hopeful. He noticed how unhealthy she really looked. Her long, straight and shiny brown hair was dull and limp and her face was pale. Pansy had dark shadows under her eyes and her bottom lip was chapped where she was continuously biting it.

_'What happened to them?_' Harry thought.

Theo sighed. 'We're in for a hell of a ride this year.'

Blaise and Pansy nodded. 'Did we make the right choice coming back?' She asked her friends.

'Of course we did, we are Slytherins! We are proud and we deserve our education like the rest of them. We weren't exactly nice people I know, but this whole War wasn't our fault and it's not fair that we're going to suffer. We are not going to be victims. We will walk in, with our heads held high and show them that we aren't evil and that we are people just like the rest of them!'

Blaise smiled at his usually quiet friend. 'I quite agree, Nott.' He replied affectionately.

'Me too. We can do this... I do hope Daphne and the others are okay. Their parents deemed it unsafe to travel with us and are escorting them personally.' Pansy said, taking a deep breath and resting her head against the seat.

'Maybe you should have done the same.' A malicious voice sounded from the doorway.

None of the Slytherins had heard the door open, and they all swung round to see Ron and Ginny standing in the door with their wands drawn.

They went to grab their own, but Ron took a step further. 'If you take your wands out, we will hurt you.' The anger in his voice made sure they sat still.

'No, no, no.' Ginny simpered when she saw Blaise's hand edging towards his pocket. She threw a stinging hex at him and he pulled his hand back with a yelp.

'We just wanted to say that we will be watching you. You don't own this school anymore. We loathe the fact that you came back, in fact, we loathe the fact you're alive. Filthy fucking Death Eaters.' Ron spat.

'Come near us, or anyone and we will get you thrown out. Then everyone will see you for the useless fucks you are.' Ginny said, an evil grin spreading across her pretty face. 'Goes for all of you.'

'We just want to finish school, we aren't going to cause any trouble.'

'Just as well, or you're going to end up like your disgusting friend.'

'Draco?' Pansy gasped.

'Yes Dwaco.' Ron mimicked with a laugh. Ginny sniggered. 'Missing him, are we Parkinson? Rumour has it you weren't his type but he still used you for his own entertainment. Rumour has it, they all did!' She cackled.

'Shut up, Weasley. The whole fucking school knows what you've been up to. Fucking Corner behind Potter's back. Some Gryffindor you are!' Blaise hissed, jumping to Pansy's defence.

'Shut the fuck up, you piece of shit.' Ron hissed. 'Don't ever fucking talk to my sister like that again!' He poked his wand harshly into Blaise's chest and muttered a one-worded spell.

Pansy gasped again. 'What are you doing!' She cried when she heard the spell he used. 'That's a dark spell!'

'And? Nobody is going to know are they? They aren't going to believe people like _you_.'

When Blaise began gasping for breath, Harry decided enough was enough. He literally rolled off the rack and surprised the whole group of teenagers. He surprised himself by landing on his feet.

He shot a locking charm at the door, and took the chance to take the Weasley's wands. Just to be sure, he took the Slytherins too.

'This will stop now.' He said darkly. There wasn't much room in the cabin, even though they had picked a large one. His legs were touching Pansy's and he was pretty much face to face with the angry red-heads.

'Potter. What the hell are you doing? Playing with the Snakes again?' He sneered.

'Why not? They're surprisingly much nicer than you. You're really quite something.'

'So what Ron said was true then?' Ginny hissed.

'No, Ginny. I'm not spending time with the Slytherins, but after that little show I'd much rather be friendly them than you. Both of you. Gin, I really thought more of you. So, is it true then, what Zabini said?' Harry tried to keep the cold look on his face, but he couldn't hide the hurt he felt. Ginny _was_ his girlfriend and he had loved her, romantically, not for long, but she had been his friend for a long time before that.

'Harry, you're going to believe that thing, over us? Please, just come back with us and this whole thing can be forgotton...' She pleaded.

'And him? Nah, I'd rather be crucio'd repeatedly for an hour. I can't fucking believe you.'

'That can be arranged, traitor.'

Harry smirked at Weasley 'Right, okay! I think it's about time you left!' Harry said cheerfully. 'You can have your wands back when we get to school. I'll give them to McGonagall. I don't particularly want to see your faces again.'

'You'll fucking give it back n...'

'Erm, Won-Won. I have 7 wands in my hand right now, are you sure you want to argue with me?'

Harry unlocked the door with a flick of his wand. 'Leave. Now.' He demanded.

He gave Harry a dark, murderous look and stormed out of the cabin dragging Ginny with him. Harry sighed.

'I think I have some explaining to do.' He began apologetically, turning around to face the shell-shocked Slytherins.

They said nothing, but eyed the Gryffindor warily.

'I didn't mean to startle you, in fact I was just dozing off when they came in. You came in earlier and I was under my cloak as I didn't want to see anyone so I climbed up on the rail so there wasn't a confrontation. I wasn't trying to listen in on you or anything. Umm, I know what happened to Malfoy, although I don't know where he is now.'

'Tell us! Is he okay?' Pansy asked almost hysterically.

'He was beaten pretty badly and he ended up in hospital. I think they were people from the war who wanted to get revenge on ex Death Eaters.'

'But he wasn't...' Theo began.

'I know! I know he wasn't please believe me. Unfortunately not everyone shares my opinion.' He interrupted, inclining his head towards the door.

'Oh, poor Dray...' Pansy whispered.

'Yeah, I think he'll be okay though. He was receiving pretty good care when I saw him.'

'You saw him!?' Theo and Blaise said in unison.

'Yeah, by accident. I was in hospital too and I literally stumbled into his room.' Harry left out the part where Draco was being hurt, so he didn't cause the Slytherins anymore distress.

'You were in hospital again? You are always in the bloody hospital. You should really start to look after yourself more.' Blaise chided much to Harry's surprise.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle. The Italian Slytherin had a point.

* * *

><p>It was rather awkward at first, but the 5 teens (well, 4 as Goyle was silent the whole time) managed to enter light conversation that lasted all the way back to the castle. Pansy had apologised profusely for what had happened in their last year and Harry had told her repeatedly that it was fine and she should really stop worrying about it. He told her all the worrying was giving her wrinkles, and advised her to stop before they became permanent. Blaise and Theo snorted in laughter and Pansy glared at the three men.<p>

They got to Hogwarts and Harry went into the Great Hall a few moments after his new Slytherin friends. He wasn't in the mood to explain to everyone why he was with the Snakes and not his fellow Gryffindors.

Ron and Ginny glared at him and Harry pointedly ignored them. Hermione looked confused and torn, and she didn't know whether to greet her best friend or not. Ron had made it quite clear that he wanted nothing to do with Potter and had informed her that she had to choose her friends wisely. Hermione was a strong woman with an equally strong head, but she loved Ron and she just had no idea what to do. She offered him a weak smile and made an inward promise of making it up to him later.

Harry understood her pain and decided to make it easier on her by returning the smile and then ignoring her for the rest of the Headmaster's speech. He sat between Neville and Seamus and listened to what the Head had to say. He noticed that the students were giving him funny looks as he wasn't sat in his usual place with the other 2 parts of the golden trio. He tried to ignore them too.

'Good summer?' Neville asked, through a mouthful of food. It snapped Harry out of his daydream and he nodded.

'Not too bad thanks, what about you?'

'Yeah was great! Luna and I made it official, and she met my Grandmother and everything. She wasn't best impressed at first but I think Luna grew on her after a few weeks.' Neville said cheerfully.

'That's great mate!' Harry replied happily. _At least someone had a good summer._

Seamus and Dean just stared at Harry. They had heard everything Ron had to say about the boy-who-lived and they weren't sure whether to believe it or not. Harry and Ron were both their friends and they simply did not know what to say.

'Ermm...' Seamus began awkwardly. 'What did you get up to?' He aimed the question at both Harry and Neville.

'Not much.' Harry replied shortly.

'Just spent time with Luna, really.' Neville shrugged.

'You must of done something Harry!' Seamus chirped. He noticed the glare that Harry was giving him and snapped his mouth shut. Now was not a good time to speak, obviously.

'Me and Dean went to see Ireland play Quidditch and then generally just got pisssed every weekend. Muggle London has some awesome clubs.'

'That's nice. How did you get in?'

'We're magic Harry.' Seamus said slowly, as if talking to a child. Harry couldn't help but laugh. 'Of course. Fake I.D or Confundus?'

Seamus just winked and Harry chuckled again. He wished the invitation had extended to him, he felt as if his whole holiday was wasted with Ron and Hermione.

'Next time, Owl me. I'd love to check out the nightlife. I don't get out often.' Harry said quietly and both Seamus and Dean nodded eagerly.

They finished their meal in a comfortable silence and when Harry finished he walked to McGonagall's office and waited for her to finish her supper. He stood with his back to the wall and had one leg propped up on the grey stones. He twiddled his wand between his fingers and had the Weasley's wands tucked under his armpit.

'Mr Potter, what are you doing?' McGonagall said as she approached the Gryffindor. Harry jumped and snapped his head up.

'Sorry Professor.' He mumbled. 'Ronald and Ginny tried using their wands against the Slytherins on the train, so I took them away and I thought it would be best to give them to you as I don't think I could hold my temper if I see either of them.'

'I see. And what of your other friends?'

'I think they're fine. They won't act out against the others, unless Ron poisons their minds.' He grumbled.

'Is there anything thing else?' She asked as she took the wands away from Harry.

'Yeah, Ron used a dark curse on Blaise Zabini. I don't know what it was, but it made it hard for him to breathe.'

Minerva frowned. 'I shall talk to Mr Zabini and Professor Snape in the morning. Thankyou Potter, I'll see you first thing for class.'

Harry nodded and left. He had no idea where he was going to go, there's no way he could sleep in the same room as Ronald. Then he remembered, he could always use the Room of Requirement! With a satisfied nod, he turned on his heel and marched toward the third floor.

He paced three times and the door appeared. He snuck in, checking the hallway for students and firmly shut the door. The room had provided him with everything he could need, even a pair of pj's and he chuckled at the rooms choice of green and silver decor. He threw his new clothes on and climbed into the soft, squashy bed.

* * *

><p>AN: And there we go, chapter one done! It's long, I know but the next chapters probably will be a bit shorter. Hope you enjoyed it! Much love x<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I hope you all liked chapter one? Thanks for the reviews and the follows and favs! Hope to make you proud. Please enjoy this one too! :D**

**Lovewater: Thanks, I hope you like this chapter. Xx**

* * *

><p>When Harry woke up he had no idea where he was. He kicked the green sheets off himself and wondered why he had green sheets, he never had green sheets. It was always red, blue or cream (when he was at privet drive).<p>

Then he remembered.

'Fuck sake.' He muttered. He climbed out of bed and lifted his arms above his head and bent his body back in a cat-like manner. He was about to go in search for a House Elf to go fetch his trunk from Gryffindor tower, but remembered he should still have his shrunken trunk in his robes pocket.

He quickly picked up the discarded robe and rummaged around in the large pockets. 'Aha!' He exclaimed when his fingers touched the hard, little box. 'There you are!' He smiled as he waved his wand over the box and transformed it to its former glory. Harry opened it and pulled out a clean uniform and robe, he then checked his timetable and bagged all the books and equipment he needed for his first day of his 7th and final year at Hogwarts. The trunk was shrunk again and Harry slid it into the bottom of his school bag. After showering and attempting to tame his wild hair, he threw his uniform on and made his way to Transfiguration. He was pretty hungry, but he was sure he could wait until lunch.

Harry wasn't late, but by the time he arrived, Hermione and Ron were sat together at the front, with Seamus and Neville behind them. Dean was partnered with Parvarti and the other 7th year Gryffindors sat in two's behind each other, on the same side of the classroom. The Slytherins done the same on the other side and Harry saw that the war had done nothing to help inter-house union ship.

He quickly noticed that there was no where for him to sit on the 'Gryffindor' side of the classroom, due to the fact that the numbers had shrunk, so the class had shrunk purely to accommodate the lesser number of students.

_'Probably Hogwarts way of helping us not to focus on the empty chairs there would inevitably be.'**_ Harry thought to himself with a pang of sadness. He shrugged the feeling away and slid into one of the only empty chairs in the room which happened to be next an unknown Slytherin who looked liked she was sucking on a sour lemon. The other empty seat was next to Goyle, who looked as gormless as he had looked on the train. He was at the back and Harry would rather deal with the stroppy looking girl, rather than try and work with someone who didn't look like he was going to be much help.

'Hey.' He muttered as he sat down. The girl just glared at him and Harry took a deep breath and faced the front of the class.

'Good morning, students.' Professor McGonagall began as she entered the room through a door at the front of the classroom. She wore her usual black robes and black hat, but Harry noticed she had a tiny little pin, pinned to the front of her robes. It was in memory of the lives lost in the recent battle, and Harry swore he'd get one. Such a little show of support could really make an impact on someone who had suffered.

Harry and his partner (whose name Harry still didn't know) had to take it in turns to go over what they had learned over the last few years. Just simple things such as turning cups into candles and pieces of wood into stools. It started to get more difficult when they were required to change a watch into a mouse and a goblet into a blackbird.

'If you are interested in becoming an Animagus in the future, you must listen carefully. It is not easy to deal with live creatures, but it's much easier to turn a quill in a mouse than it is to turn yourself into an animal.' She waved her wand over a large, Eagle feather quill and it instantly changed into a friendly looking brown mouse.

'Some people have a natural gift for Transfiguration and manage it early on, but for others it can take years to master. Some old students of mine managed the transformation whilst they were at school. One of the Wizards in that particular group was one of the most unremarkable men I've ever known, he didn't excel in anything and relied on his friends to help him through school. I've recently found out that he was actually the first of his group of friends to transform completely. I, myself was 16 when I mastered the art, although I've had skills in Transfiguration since I was a young child.'

She allowed herself a small smile when she saw the unbelieving faces of some of her students.

'So, you need to focus everything you have whilst Transfiguring an object. All of you have managed to transform an object into a different object and I can see that all of you are able to deal with small, live creatures. Our next lesson will be attempting to Transfigure larger animals and so your first lot of homework is to research animal Transfiguration. I would like at least 8 inches by our next lesson. If you are interested in the art of Anamagi then come to me at the end of the day and I can provide you with some information on it. But remember it's not for everyone. Class dismissed.

Harry took his time packing his bags up and slowly made his way to the front of the class.

'Was that my Dad and his friends you spoke about Professor?' Harry asked meekly.

'Yes Mr Potter it was. I can't believe that I was unaware of their talents throughout the whole of their school life. To master it at such a young age is incredible. They must have only been 13 or 14 and that is quite frankly, unheard of! Sorry, was. I was the youngest person to reach full Animagi before those troublemakers.' She smiled affectionately, her memories flashing back to the days of the Marauders.

Harry returned the smile. 'But Pettigrew was, like you said, unremarkable, and he managed it. Why aren't more people able to do it?'

'He was unremarkable yes, but he obviously just had a knack for it. It's as simple as that, some people can and some people can't. I expect _you_ could if you tried.'

'Really? I wonder if I'd be a Stag, like my Father.'

'Quite possibly Mr Potter. Your Patronus is a Stag, is it not?'

'Yes Professor. Like my Dad's.'

'Then I expect so.' The elderly Witch smiled again. 'Now go. Before you get detention for being late.'

Harry rushed to his next lesson that just happened to be double Potions.

* * *

><p>This time Harry was partnered with Theo Nott. The Gryffindor smiled in relief, at least it wasn't that snooty girl whose name was still a mystery.<p>

'Hey.' Theo whispered as Harry sat down.

'Alright?' Harry replied, pulling his books out of his bag and placing them haphazardly on the table.

'I got Annabelle to sit next to Goyle. They can be miserable together. She was meant to marry Crabbe when they graduated, hence why she was glaring at you for the whole lesson. I expect she's been fed a biased account of what happened with Vincent.'

'Ahhh. I did wonder why her looks burnt me from the inside.'

Theo sniggered quietly and arranged his books and quills neatly in front of him. Seconds later, Snape came billowing in and took his place at the front of the room.

He began the lesson in his deep voice before realizing Harry wasn't sat with his usual crowd. He frowned at the Gryffindors and his eyes skimmed over the Slytherins. He clocked Potter and double took when he saw him sitting next to Theo. Harry smiled brightly at the Potions Professor and got another frown in return.

'And why, Mr Potter are you not sitting in your usual space, with your usual crowd?'

'No reason Professor, just fancied a change.'

Snape snorted disbelievingly and carried on with his lesson.

The lesson, just like the one before went smoothly, other than the glares Harry seemed to get from Weasley. The other Gryffindors ignored him, other than the odd smile and nod and when Harry needed to fetch ingredients from the store, Dean spoke to him, making sure he was okay. Harry simply replied with yes, and that he was more than happy to be sitting with the Slytherins, especially because there seemed to be no room for him on the typically Gryffindor side of the classroom.

Lunch was fine and nothing outrageous happened. Harry sat as far away from Ron as he could without separating himself away from his other friends, and Seamus, Dean and Neville made an extra effort to talk with him.

Before the next lesson began, the trio he sat with at lunch pulled Harry to one side before they all had to go to into Charms. Harry looked at them briefly and he knew exactly what was about to be said.

'Harry, what's going on?' Neville asked.

The raven-haired teen sighed.

'The other day, when I was staying at the Burrow, Ron and I had a one-on-one Quidditch session. It got rough and Molly made us go to St. Mungo's as she couldn't heal broken bones. While we were there we heard someone in a private room being attacked. I went in to help and it turns out it was Draco Malfoy. He was beaten quite badly already, but that didn't stop them. When Ron found out it was Draco, he started being vile towards him and I didn't like it. We got in a fight and I apparated out of there, went to the Burrow, packed my stuff and left.'

'Oh.' Neville said, slightly shocked.

'We heard you'd become friends with the Slytherins and ganged up on Ron and Ginny.'

'No. I wore my cloak on the train because I didn't want to be seen and end up in an argument. I was in a compartment when the Slytherins came in so I simply climbed onto the luggage rack and squashed myself into a corner and napped. Ron and Ginny came in and started threatening them, and after Ron used a dark curse on Zabini, I stepped in and helped them.'

'That's more believable than what Weasley said.' Dean muttered.

'I don't blame the Slytherins at all, they were forced into the War as much as we were, if not more. They may have been assholes to us in the past, but everyone deserves a second chance and in my opinion they've more than proved themselves.'

'I agree with ya mate. I'll stand with you. Ron's changed, he's not like he used to be. I think the fame got to his head and now he's just an arse.' Seamus said with a grin. He clapped Harry on the shoulder and propelled him around, and began walking to the classroom.

* * *

><p>Harry couldn't help but feel a little smug. Over the last few weeks more and more people approached him and said things similar to what Neville, Dean and Seamus said on their first day back. The Weasley's were loosing friends everyday. It seemed the students of Hogwarts didn't like to hear that their Savior was being bullied by his former friend and girlfriend.<p>

The Slytherins were also becoming a strong part of Harry's friendship circle, and although the Gryffindors found it awkward at first they soon realized that they all had a lot in common and became quite close. This was lucky for the Snakes, as they were still being victimized by certain people but when they were surrounded by their new friends, the bullies didn't want to risk the wrath of Harry and his circle of hot-headed Gryffindors, or the cunning Slytherins. People generally noticed that Harry was getting along awfully well with Zabini and Parkinson, and naturally being in a school, that generated rumors.

It was a couple of days before Halloween when Dean approached Harry at dinner time. He looked confused and Harry was immediately worried.

'What's up mate?' He asked.

'Harry, there's something that's been bothering me and I need to talk to you.' He began seriously.

'What have I done now?' He responded with a sigh.

'Well, when you told us what had happened at the hospital, my immediate thought was that you CAN'T apparate from Mungo's. The Wards are far too strong.'

'I honestly...' Harry began.

'I am not calling you a liar Harry, hear me out.'

He nodded.

'You can't apparate from St. Mungo's, it's impossible. They have some of the strongest anti-apparition Wards known to Wizard kind. Not even the Minister of Magic or Dumbledore can do it. There's a spot just outside the front doors, or people usually floo there.'

'Do you think the Wards had been lifted?'

'Well, they must have been, and only the leader of the hospital can do that. I originally thought there was a glitch in the Wards, but that's impossible. You just don't get glitches in powerful Wards. So either they were lifted, or you've done the impossible. Again.'

'Oh yay me.' Harry said sarcastically.

'We can ask about it on the sly, to save you from unwanted attention.' Dean said sympathetically. 'I'm just too intrigued to let this go.'

'Okay.' Harry nodded in agreement. He was intrigued too. 'There's another thing, Dean. I was able to apparate into the Burrow too, and I know that's got the Wards left over from the War.'

Dean looked thoughtful for a minute. 'You could have been keyed into the Wards there, you have been friends with the Weasley's for 7 years.'

'Why have I got to be so complicated!' Harry moaned into his hands.

'Dunno, mate. Trouble seems to find you doesn't it.' Dean chuckled, helping himself to some chicken and potatoes. Harry just sighed in agreement and carried on eating his dinner. He was happily scoffing his face when Snape received an Owl at the teachers table. Owls don't normally come in the evening, so everyone was looking at him, curious. Snape frowned and stood up abruptly, leaving the hall in a swirl of black. He re-entered minutes after and headed straight to the Slytherin table where he whispered something into Blaise's ear. He left again and Zabini beckoned to the others to follow.

'I'll be right back.' Harry muttered to Dean, and his friend just responded with a small nod. He didn't make it obvious but Harry hurried out of the hall after the Slytherins who were heading in the direction of the Head's office. He pulled his cloak out of his bag and slipped in over himself before getting onto the staircase before it closed behind him.

When he eventually got into the office at the top of the spiral staircase, Harry was shocked at the sight that greeted him. Draco Malfoy was sat on a plush, red, squashy sofa and his Parents were sat upright of wooden-backed chairs beside him.

Pansy squealed and pretty much launched herself into Draco's open arms. They wrapped themselves around each other and if you listened carefully you could hear the gentle sobs that came from one of them. After Pansy finally let go, Draco gave Theo and Blaise a quick hug and then sat back down.

'Please take a seat!' Dumbledore exclaimed over the noise of concerned voices. Everyone sat down, except Harry who stood awkwardly by the door. Dumbledore's twinkly blue eyes lingered on his for a split second and Harry couldn't help but smile.

'Right, I understand that you are all very happy to get Mr Malfoy back, and I'm sure he's happy to be back.'

The teenagers all nodded and Dumbledore beamed at them.

'The Malfoy's have given permission for me to explain what happened to Draco over the summer. It it not a pleasant story but we feel you should know. This does not leave this room, unless Draco says otherwise. You may or may not want to talk to your new friends about it, but that's up to you.' Dumbledore said, looking straight at the youngest Malfoy.

'New friends?' He asked, looking at the other Slytherins. Blaise cleared his throat with a small cough.

'We've become friends with the Gryffindors mainly. Some of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs talk to us too but we spend quite a lot of time with Harry and the others. As well as it being helpful to us, we have become very close with them. They are a good group and we trust them, like they trust us.'

Draco looked baffled.

'It started on the train. Harry defended us against the Weasels and it went from there.' Pansy shrugged.

'Harry isn't friends with them anymore. But I think that's his story to tell, not ours.' Theo added.

'Bloody hell.' Draco muttered rubbing his head.

'Language Dragon.' Narcissa reprimanded gently, placing her pale hand on Draco's thin arm.

'Sorry Mother. This has all come as a bit of a shock to me.'

'Understandable!' Dumbledore said cheerfully. 'An excellent display of friendship, inter-house union-ship and forgiveness!'

All three Malfoys looked slightly confused. They knew that Potter knew they ended up leaving Voldemort, but to forgive the Slytherins so easily was amazing. If, just if, they could could get Potter on their side fully, then they'd be re-accepted completely into society.

Harry knew what they were thinking and he shook his head. They are still trying to climb up the ladder and now they're going to use him to do it. But, strangely it didn't bother him. He knew that that's just who they were and they meant no offence by it. In a way they were going to use him, but on the other hand they seemed to really like him.

'_Maybe we can make this mutually beneficial.' _Harry thought.

'Right, back to the point of this meeting. During the holidays, Mr Malfoy experienced some unpleasant things. He was taken from Diagon Ally and held against his will, in less that sanitary conditions. During his time there he was beaten, cursed and chained to a wall. He was also made to wear magic restraining bonds that prevent your body from healing like it normally would. The Healers have done everything they can and although they've healed the physical ailments, they've not been so lucky with the mind and emotions. Draco is prone to have magical outbursts due to his magic is still stabilizing. Unfortunately there are students here who wouldn't think twice about hexing their classmates so it's your job to keep Mr Malfoy safe. For now, until he's back to his usual strength.'

Blaise, Theo and Pansy sat there with their mouths literally hanging open. Pansy had tears slowly spilling out of her eyes and she held on to Draco's hand with so much force that his already pale hand was going white. Narcissa held on to Draco's other hand and the blonde was just sat there with a stoic expression on his face.

Pansy went to say something, but Draco shook his head. 'I'd rather not talk about it , I intend to live my life and get revenge that way. For now.'

She nodded silently, as did Blaise and Theo. Blaise stood up and whispered something in Draco's ear. The blonde's face relaxed slightly and the others couldn't help but wonder what the Italian said.

Harry felt a wave of affection for the two Slytherins and it made him smile.

'Okay, well if we're done here, I'll personally escort you down to your dorms. Anything any of you wish to talk about, you know where I am.'

Draco and his friends said goodbye to Lucius and Narcissa, the blonde woman hugging her Son for slightly longer that was deemed acceptable to Purebloods. Pansy noticed but she didn't care. Not anymore. Once upon a time she would have judged Narcissa and Draco for the open display of affection but now she was just happy that Draco was alive and well, and she was also glad that the Malfoy's didn't end up in prison or worse, dead. Not like her family who were all in Azkaban, other than an Uncle who wanted nothing to do with her since the day she was born. Pansy sneered inwardly, Uncle Tobias had abandoned her Father when he decided to join Voldemort in the first Wizarding War. He was young an blinded by the Pure-Blood ideals and now he was paying for that, but even though the War was over and he knew Pansy never took the Mark, he still didn't care.

She gently took Draco's hand and Blaise linked him arm through hers. Theo followed suite and wrapped his arm around the blondes shoulders letting Dumbledore lead the way. Harry scurried out after them, slightly ashamed from eve-stropping on such a private affair. He made a promise to himself that he would help protect the Slytherins at any cost.

* * *

><p>Draco seemed to settle well into a daily routine. He would wake up, shower and go to Breakfast surrounded by his friends. He resumed his position as 'Slytherin Ice Prince' and most people just left him to his own devises, occasionally approaching him and asking for help with their Potions or seeing if he needed any help with his. The only thing that was noticeably different is that he never insulted or threatened Students from the other houses and people speculated the reasons why, but nobody complained. Draco found it easy to catch up on the work he had missed and he was up to speed with the others within 3 weeks of returning to school. He kept his head low and concentrated of his studies and luckily that helped his mind heal as he had something else to concentrate on.<p>

They were at Lunch one day near Christmas and the hall was beautifully decorated with the usual Hogwarts decor, when Draco noticed a very green pair of eyes staring intently at him from across the hall. Draco looked at the green-eyed man with his molten silver orbs and couldn't help but smile when said man blushed slightly and sent the blonde a crooked smile before looking quickly away into the interesting mess that was his pasta.

'I get that you've extended your friendship to Potter, but why does he keep looking at us. That's a least the 10th time I've caught him staring.' Draco said quietly to Pansy who was sat on the left side of him, delicately spooning soup into her mouth. She jumped slightly and turned to her friend.

'He's looking out for us, making sure that we're okay.' She replied simply, dunking a warm piece of roll into the bowl. Draco noticed her smile at the mention of Potter and he grinned widely.

'Is there something you're not telling us.' He said a bit louder, grabbing the attention of Blaise, Theo and Daphne who were having their own conversation about homework.

'No!' She denied, blushing slightly and dropping her eyes to the table, before lifting them and defiantly looking Draco in the eye with her chin raised.

The blonde lifted his hands up in mock surrender. 'Okay, okay! Was just asking.' He grinned mischievously at Blaise and Theo and they caught on immediately. Daphne looked baffled before she caught the blonde look pointedly between their friend and Harry was now chatting animatedly with Finnigan and Thomas.

'Potter? Really?' She chimed. 'Other than his bird nest he's really grown up hasn't he? Slytherin green eyes and a Seeker's body to die for...'

'Daphne!' Pansy hissed at her friend. 'Shut up!'

The blonde girl shrugged. 'I was just saying, dear. And you can't say I'm lying.'

No one disagreed with her. Theo was the one blushing when he turned to look at Harry and noticed just what Daphne was talking about. Luckily no one noticed as they were all too busy trying to pick information out of the very embarrased Slytherin girl.

* * *

><p>Pansy was glad when lessons and dinner were finally over. Her friends had been picking on her all day as they somehow got this ridiculous notion in their stupid heads that she fancied Potter. Harry-Bloody-Potter of all people!<p>

As a Prefect she was able to use the huge Prefect bathrooms and she was relieved when she got there to discover it was completely empty. Or so she thought. She started running the water and added some of her favourite Vanilla and Cinnamon bath scents before quickly shedding her clothes and slipping into the lush, warm water.

She jumped out of her skin when she heard a soft 'plop' behind her and noticed that a certain green-eyed Gryffindor had slipped in next to her.

'Hope you don't mind.' He said softly as he removed his glasses tilted his head back, wetting his hair in the water. Truth be told, he didn't need his glasses anymore but he wore them as a sort of comfort thing.

'Erm... N-no. Um, of c-c-course not.' She stuttered.

'I looked away when you got changed, it's just you looked so happy to be here that I didn't want you to leave if you realised someone else was here.'

Pansy took a deep breath. 'It's fine, this bath is big enough for the whole of our year.'

'_Thank fuck it's dark in here.' _She thought as she felt like her face and body were on fire with the furious blush that was creeping along her soft curves.

'But I'm glad they're not here.' Harry said slowly.

She blinked.

*Sex scene*

'I don't think you know quite how beautiful you are.' Harry said softly as he drifted closer to Pansy, who was stood there gaping like a fish out of water. He put his hand out to her, silently asking if this was okay and she only hesitated for a second before slipping her small hand into his larger one. Harry pulled her close to him before dipping his head to kiss her gently on the lips. He broke away to look her in the eyes and then dived in for a more passionate and heated one. Harry gradually got Pansy close enough the the edge of the bath before lifting her and encouraging her to wrap her long legs around his middle.

'Is this okay?' He whispered. She nodded and that's all Harry needed before he began a relentless assault on her neck. Pansy felt his excitement and she couldn't help but shudder, the warm feeling in the pit of her stomach was so intense that she was going to scream unless he done something about it. She started to slowly grind her hips on the Gryffindor and he growled. He let his hand drift down her body, only stopping to briefly play with her breasts and when it got to where he wanted he felt Pansy whimper against his neck. She moved slightly, eager for Harry to carry on and he did so, gladly.

'Needy aren't you?' He purred seductively at her. She mumbled something incoherent and squeezed against him tighter.

'Are you a virgin?' Harry asked quietly and when she shook her head he removed his fingers and hoisted her up before entering her in one fluid, swift moment.

'Fuck!' He hissed, allowing Pansy to adjust before moving. Judging by the noises that were coming out her mouth, she was enjoying it so Harry moved faster and faster and began relentlessly fucking her, swallowing her screams as he harshly kissed her already swollen lips.

'More.' She moaned quietly into his ear and Harry felt it rude to deny her of this one request. He attached himself to her neck, biting in the way he knew she liked. They writhed together in the water for a long while before finishing together. Harry came with a growl and yet again swallowed Pansy's screams with his mouth.

'Fuck.' He said again when he pulled out, he pulled the Slytherin into a hug before turning her around and began gently washing her back and hair.

'Are you okay?' He asked, feeling she had been silent for far too long.

She turned round slowly to meet his gaze and covered her chest with her arms.

'I don't know why I let that happen.' She said quietly.

Harry jolted backwards like he'd been slapped.

'No, no. I didn't mean it like that. It was great Harry, you were great, but as much as I'd like it to happen again. I'm not sure if I can allow it.'

'What do you mean?' He asked slowly.

'I really like you Harry. But I think I'm in love with someone else.'

'And you realised that whilst we were fucking did you?' Harry replied, a bit harsher than he intended. 'I don't get it.' He carried on, ignoring her hurt look. 'I've been watching you and I've seen the looks you've been giving me.'

'Do you like me like that then?' She asked quietly.

Harry looked at the Slytherin for a minute. 'Yes I do. I would never have done that with you if no feelings were involved. I'm sorry.'

'But you don't love me do you?'

Harry shook his head after pausing in thought for a minute.

'I understand Harry. I'm in love with someone, but I fancy YOU. It's odd as I've only ever had feelings for one person at a time. First it was school boy I knew as a child, then it was Draco, then Blaise and now finally the one that I will never have. This is new to me too.'

'So you didn't use me, or just let me use you then?' Harry replied, and Pansy heard him sound like a child for the first time since meeting him.

'Of course not. I like you and I really enjoyed that, it was much better than my other times. Not that there's been many. But I feel me and you are more suited to being friends maybe in time, best friends.' She said in a small voice.

'I think I understand Pans. Although I wouldn't be opposed to doing that again, if we're not with other people that is.' He grinned slowly, realising that Pansy was right.

_'But then, she always is.'_ He thought. '_Just like Hermione.' _He pushed that thought away before it consumed him.

Pansy couldn't help but leer back. 'Of course you wouldn't. Me neither.' She blushed slightly and Harry brushed his fingers across her cheek.

'That settles it then Gorgeous.' He laughed. Pansy chuckled and threw some bubbles at him, not caring that she and him were still completely naked. He flicked some back and ended up going under the water when she jumped on his back. 'I will tame your hair, wild boy.' She giggled when he finally emerged, she dragged her fingers through his black tresses and sighed at the mess.

'You have 5 minutes.' He grumbled before turning around and letting Pansy go to town on his hair.

She squealed in glee and began attacking his mop with vigor, using a brush and comb she'd conjured. Harry shook his head when he felt Pansy's chest squash up against his back and he managed to suppress the arousal he was beginning to feel. He thought hard about what she said as she worked in comfortable silence. He didn't love her, she was right about that, but there was an attraction there, for both of them.

'Who are you in love with?'

Pansy started, catching Harry's ear with her comb. 'Sorry!' She exclaimed. 'You caught me off guard. Is your ear okay?'

'No worries.' He grumbled rubbing his ear. 'So who is it then?' He repeated gently.

'It doesn't really matter, I'll never get to be with her.' Pansy replied softly.

'Why? Wait? Who? A girl? Did you say 'her', is she a girl?'

Pansy giggled before going serious. 'Yes, you are the only one I've told so please don't mention it to the others, I'll let them know when I'm ready.'

'Sure thing, so who?'

'You won't believe me.'

'Go on, I won't judge.' He pressed gently.

She vanished her brush and sat on the bath-bench pulling Harry down with her.

'It's Granger.'

'Who?'

'Hermione Granger.'

Harry felt like he was about to faint. 'Hermione? Why?'

'I don't really know how it happened but I've liked her since the end of last year. I'm attracted to her power and her brilliant mind. Her kind smile and the way she cares for those she loves. She's a beautiful person, inside and out.'

'She is, but I don't know what's going on between us now.'

'Talk to her Harry, she loves you but I think Weasley is controlling her more than she realises.'

Harry thought about it.

'You're right. Again.' He sighed. 'What an odd night this has turned out to be.'

Pansy giggled. 'Indeed it has.'

They got out the bath, not bothering to cover and slowly got dressed. Neither of them could help feeling happy as they sent glances to one another as they made their way out of the bathroom, they held hands, much like the way Harry used to hold Hermione's or the way Pansy would hold Draco's.

Harry walked Pansy back to the Slytherins dorms and kissed her on the cheek.

'See you tomorrow.' He smiled.

'See you tomorrow.' She echoed as she turned around as disappeared from sight.

Harry went up to his own common room and entered quietly, casting a quick tempus as he went. It was gone 11 and Harry knew it was only his luck that he wasn't found wandering the corridors after hours. He and Pansy had been bathing for over 3 and a half hours. He walked through the portrait only to find a very upset Hermione.

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!<p>

P.S ** I'm not sure if that made sense, so I'll explain it quick, during the battle (in JK's DH pt 2 and my 6th year version, Harry and his friends lost a few of their classmates. Hogwarts has a type of magic of it's own and took away the chairs that would not have been filled, to save the students looking at them and thinking 'Oh, Lavender should have been there' etc, etc. There is just enough chairs for the current students, but there is not going to be exactly the same number of students in each house, or the same number of students in that particular class. Hope that explains it!'


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. Thanks to my new followers and those who have favorited my story or me. Much love 3 Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Thewolf74: Thankyou. I sometimes struggle writing naughty scenes, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. Here's the next chapter! :D <strong>

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><p>Chapter three.<p>

Harry just stood near the portrait, his eyes trained on his friend. He felt awful and knew he should go and comfort her, but he was too busy gawking at the girl who was muttering softly to herself through heart-breaking sobs.

'Oh Harry, what have I done?' Harry heard Hermione whisper. 'I never meant for this to happen! And now I've lost you because of my own bloody stupidity.'

The green-eyed teenager could feel his eyes welling up at the honesty and sadness in her voice, but he willed himself not to cry. It was even harder when he realized that Hermione was clutching a picture to her chest. When he caught a glimpse of it, he saw it was a picture of him and Hermione from a Hogsmeade trip in fifth year. They both looked happy and relaxed and they were both laughing about something.

_'Oh bloody hell.'_ He thought.

'I never once believed him, but I love him and I could never figure out why he started lying about you.' Hermione gave an anguished cry that was muffled by her hands. 'What am I going to do? Why did I ignore him, instead of standing up for my best friend. He would have do that for me. I'm just a selfish b-b-bitch...'

'Mione?' He said quietly as he took a step forward, letting Hermione see him. She jumped and hastily swiped her hand across her eyes. It didn't stop the tears and she looked pitifully at him before once again descending into loud sobs. 'H-H-Harry... What are y-y-you d-doing here?'

He walked over to her and sat down, pulling the brown-haired Gryffindor into his lap. She hesitated at first, but relented quickly and nuzzled her wet face into the crook of Harry's neck.

'I took a bath and was much longer than I expected.' Harry blushed at the memory and thanked Merlin that the fire was the only light in the room. They were silent for a few minutes, Harry rubbing small circles on his friends back helping to calm her down. It seemed to work as Hermione stopped shuddering and her breathing evened out.

'Harry...' She began to say but the Gryffindor butted in.

'Shhh. It's okay.' He mummered gently. 'It's okay. I promise.'

'No Harry. No it's not okay!' Hermione said, her voice rising in volume. She pulled out of Harry's embrace and looked his square in the face. The tears seemed to stop completely and Harry looked warily at her.

'How could you say it's okay? I was VILE to you. I've not been a very good friend and here you are comforting me! I don't deserve your kindness. I don't deserve anything from you. How can you be so good to me after everything?'

'Because you're still my friend.' Harry replied simply, looking at her through his long eyelashes. 'I know what's gone on, and you've not done anything to hurt me.'

'But I haven't done much to stop _them_ from hurting you either.' Hermione replied softly, shutting her eyes and flinching as if she was re-visiting a bad memory.

'I am so sorry Harry, it's all going to change. I promise.'

'You don't need to chose between me and Ron, 'Mione. I know how you feel about him.'

'I don't think you do. I sometimes think I love him, but most of the time I'm not even sure myself. He's not the man I fell in love with. He's different, he's unfriendly and arrogant and very often cruel. That's not my Ron at all. Ginny's the same but thankfully most of the other Gryffindors steer clear of them now.'

'So what are you going to do?' Harry asked tentatively.

'I think I'm going to break up with him. I can't go on like this any longer.'

Harry mmmm'd in agreement. 'You need some help?' He asked.

'No, I can do this alone. I have to. I'll do it tomorrow after dinner.'

'Alright. Don't talk to me tomorrow as he'll go mad at you if he thinks I'm stealing you away from him. Just act normal and we'll go from there. Let me know if you need me.'

Hermione sighed. 'You shouldn't be helping me, I should be helping you.'

'No more of this, 'Mione. You've always been my friend and I've forgiven you. Please stop punishing yourself over me. I'm okay, we'll be okay. Trust me.'

'I do. I honestly trust you more than anyone right now. I'm going to try and get some sleep, see you in the morning?'

'Of course. I'll try and stay nearby all day, just in case.' Harry smiled and wrapped Hermione in a rib-breaking bear hug. He kissed her cheek and her forehead and watched as she climbed the stairs that lead to her dorm. He waited a few minutes before starting to climb the stairs to his own.

He abruptly stopped walking as he approached the top of the stairs.

'I don't even sleep here anymore!' He muttered to himself. He couldn't help but chuckle, he was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he had walked up to Gryffindor tower even though he hadn't been up here in months.

He shrugged and hurried off to the Room of Requirement, using his cloak as a precaution.

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><p>Hermione couldn't help but sleep peacefully that night. As long as she and Harry were okay, everything was going to be fine. Harry was her first friend, her Brother and the person she trusted most. She couldn't believe that he forgave her just like that as the Gryffindor knew she didn't deserve it, but she was more than glad to have it. She smiled happily and drifted off to sleep.<p>

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><p>Harry on the other hand, struggled to sleep. He had got changed and climbed into his large, soft bed and just led there for hours. At about half 3 he decided to go and get something to eat from the kitchen. He snuck in and sat as his usual table and Jolly served him pumpkin juice immediately.<p>

'Thanks Jolly.' He said quietly.

'Master Harry be coming to Jolly whenever he needs feeding!' The Elf said happily.

'How did you know I was here?' Harry questioned.

'Master Harry is a regular down in the kitchens as are other naughty Hogwarts students!' The Elf chortled. 'So we is putting up triggers that tell us if someone is here, we don't mind, we don't!'

Harry chuckled. 'Don't you ever sleep?'

'Oooh, House-Elves isn't needing as much sleep as Humans! We sleeps shortly after 11 o'clocks and wake up about 5. We is needed to cook for lots and lots of Childrens and youngsters. So Master Harry is here just before all the Elves are waking up and starting their day!'

Harry nodded and took a sip of his drink. 'Could I possibly get some treacle tart?' He asked hopefully when he felt and heard his stomach rumble.

'Of course! Of course! Jolly be getting it now!' Jolly said, the joy almost radiating off him.

Harry leaned back with his hands behind his head and sighed.

'Sneaking around the castle again, are we Potter? Somethings never change.' Harry jerked his head up at the sound of the very familiar drawl.

'Malfoy.' He replied in greeting. 'Care to join me?'

Draco hesitated before pulling out a wooden chair and sitting opposite Harry. They hadn't spoken much since Draco's return to Hogwarts but there was no hatred between the two young men. They nodded to one another in classes and were civil in the hallways. They spoke occasionally when they both studied with their mutual friends, but that's as far as it went.

'Thanks.' The blonde said quietly.

Harry just nodded and he grinned when Jolly showed up with with his treacle tart that was drowning in cold vanilla ice cream. 'Want some?' He offered the Slytherin. Draco shook his head no, but then decided to ask the House-Elf for the same thing. Jolly giggled in delight and neither boy could help but smile.

'This is your favourite, isn't it?' Draco asked.

'Yep. How'd you guess?'

'I've seen how your face lights up when it's served after dinner. No matter how much you eat, you still manage to eat at least 2 pieces. You have a major sweet tooth.'

Harry lifted his head and stared directly into Draco's silver eyes. 'Yeah, that's about right. You have too don't you? That's one thing we have in common. You eat your weight in fruit for Breakfast and then you always have some sort of chocolate for afters, at every meal.'

Draco grinned. 'Stalking me Potter?'

'You wish, Malfoy.' Harry responded with a smirk.

They ate their tarts in comfortable silence occasionally glancing and smiling at each other. Harry found he enjoyed the calmness he felt when he was around the blonde Slytherin.

'So...' He said as he placed his spoon down. 'How ya feeling? Are you doing okay in classes? I guess missing that many lessons makes it hard to catch up? It would for me.'

'I've done alright thanks, Potter. Catching up wasn't too hard, Theo, Blaise and Pansy took notes and kept my homework for me. Snape gave me extra lessons in the evening as did the other Professors. 3 hours each night after dinner. I caught up within about 3 weeks.'

'Oh wow! That's great Dra- Malfoy.' Harry said, blushing at his near slip.

'You may as well call me Draco, the others call you Harry and I know you call them by their given names.'

'Okay, Draco. Call me Harry.' The Gryffindor smiled. 'It's only fair. Maybe we should just start again? Clean slate and all?'

'Sure.' He replied brightly. 'Hello, I'm Draco Malfoy.'

'Nice to meet you Draco, I'm Harry Potter.'

'Pleasure.' Harry and Draco shook hands and neither could help the feeling of warmth that radiated up their arms.

'You were right you know.' Harry said suddenly, when his hand was finally released.

'What do you mean?'

'About Weasley. He's an arse. The others are great, except Ginny. The bitch.'

'I'm always right.' Draco smirked and raised his eyebrow. Blaise had told him snippets of what happened on the train, including the bit where Harry found out the red-headed slut had been cheating on him. The thought made him angry, but he pushed it aside for the time being.

'Not about the other Weasley's though.' Harry laughed. 'They're pretty awesome.'

Draco made an uncommitted 'mmm' sound, but didn't make any other comment for a few seconds. 'There was always something about him.'

'He was fine, up until the end of the War. The fame went to his head and he became someone else. Part of me misses him, but part of me thinks good riddance. If he could turn on me just like that he's no real friend right?'

'Exactly. And he turned on you more than once didn't he?'

'Yeah.' Harry sighed.

'Fuck him Harry, stick with us and you'll be fine. Pansy and Theo thinks the sun shine out of your arse.'

'Well, the sun does sun out of my...' Harry replied, getting cut off when Draco flicked a bit of icecream at his face. He casually wiped it off and poked his tongue out.

'Hey! I've heard it myself you know.'

Draco guffawed suddenly and smacked his hand over his mouth. He looked mortified that such a sound just came out of his throat.

'Don't worry Draco, I won't tell anyone you think I'm funny, but let me guess? Malfoy's don't laugh like that?'

'No, we most certainly do not.' He said haughtily, although his smile gave him away. Harry chuckled and shook his head slightly. 'You're alright you are.' The blonde smiled gently and suddenly his face went serious.

'I know you've been protecting me, protecting us.' Draco said softly, all jest and merriment abruptly forgotten about.

'Well, you know how it is.' Harry shrugged, wishing to see Draco's smiling eyes again. He decided he liked that side of Draco.

'No, not 'you know'. You've been risking yourself to protect those who have made your life hell for the last 6 years. We all know what you've had to do to keep us safe from those who mean us harm, you've been hexed and you've thrown your own back. We know, no matter how hard you try and cover it up we know.'

Harry was lost for words, he had been so careful and he knew that his Gryffindor friends hadn't said a word. Yes, he had been protecting the Slytherins from afar but thankfully now there wasn't many people attacking. Ron and Ginny were the worse of course, and they only had several other students on their side. Unfortunately for them, they could never prove it was the two youngest Weasley's as Ginny was clever, and she was too good at covering her tracks. On the other hand they didn't get far as Harry was generally around to stop any curses or hexes hitting the Slytherins.

'I just want to say thankyou, from me and on behalf of my housemates. Thanks Harry.'

'That's okay, Draco. I look out for my friends, don't go thinking you're special.' Harry said, laughing. He reached across the table and took Draco's hand in his own, he squeezed gently and rubbed circles on the blondes pale thumb before letting go.

'All my friends are special to me, old and new get the same treatment. I've lost too much to take things for granted and now I have a close knit circle of friends and that's it. You all mean the world to me.'

Draco felt like he was going to cry, this man in front of him was amazing. He was caring, strong and powerful with an unhealthy dose of kind and compassionate thrown in. He had a brilliant smile and he was beautiful.

_'Did I just call Harry Potter beautiful?_' Draco thought, a blush creeping over his pale cheeks.

'Are you okay?' Harry asked, concern creeping into his voice as he noticed Draco's flush.

'Yes, thank you. Just a bit warm in here.' Draco said, dismissing the notion that anything was wrong. Harry shrugged and let it slide.

The two boys ended up talking for hours and it was only when the House-Elves started taking the food out for Breakfast did they realise the time.

'I was hoping to catch some sleep, but that's not going to happen now.' Harry said trying to suppress a yawn. Draco's response was just to yawn too. They made their way out of the kitchen and went to clean up and get changed before they headed down to Breakfast.

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><p>'Where have you been all night Draco?' Blaise asked when the blonde finally made an appearance at the Slytherin table.<p>

'Couldn't sleep so went down to the kitchen for a snack and ended up talking to Harry all night, turns out he struggled to sleep and had the same idea as me.' Draco shrugged as he pulled a bowl towards him and started filling it with his favourite sweet fruits. He smiled when he realised what he was doing.

'What's so funny?' The Italian asked, looking at his blonde friend.

'Nothing much, Harry was saying that he noticed I had a bit of a sweet tooth and I ate the same bowl of fruit every morning.'

Blaise snorted. 'That's an understatement. It's a bloody nightmare getting you to eat anything other than sweets.'

Pansy chuckled from across the table. 'Yeah, I remember the arguments when you were little. You always managed to find some form of chocolate in the middle of the night.'

Draco looked smug. 'Yes well, they weren't exactly hidden very well.'

'Well your Parents could never keep anything from their darling little boy.' Theo sniggered.

'Hey! Stop ganging up on me!' Draco pouted. He ate his fruit and subtly spooned more into his bowl, he couldn't help but close his eyes in bliss as the soft flavours attacked his mouth.

'So did Harry have anything much to say?' Pansy asked as she covered her toast in a thick helping of butter and cheese. Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust at his friends food. Cheese in the morning? How plebeian.

'Not really, we just chatted about...'

Draco was cut off by a painful howl coming from the Gryffindor table. Harry looked like he was in agony, he'd fallen off the bench and was immediately surrounded by the Gryffindors.

'Get back, all of you!' McGonagall demanded loudly as she and Snape rushed over to the fallen Lion. He was thrashing around wildly, before becoming as still as a statue.

'What happened?' She asked sternly, looking at the members of her house one, by one. They all faltered under her gaze.

'We have no idea Professor!' Seamus said, worry lacing his voice. 'We just started eating and Harry fell off the bench in pain. He'd only just gotten here and poured himself a drink...'

The Irish spun on his heel and looked at the table suspiciously. The Professor looked with him and went to pick up the cup that had been knocked over. Ginny grabbed it first and 'accidently' spilt the rest of the juice on the table.

'Oh no! I'm so sorry! I was just trying to help.' She said mournfully, although her eyes said otherwise.

'Not to worry Miss Weasley. I'll just take a sample off the table, we'll soon find out what's happened.'

Both Weasley's went red and sat down. Severus had already taken Harry to the hospital wing so Minerva used her wand to take a small sample of the juice, and then cleared the rest up.

'I'd question the Slytherins Professor, they've been spending an awful lot of time with Pott- Er, Harry.' Ron said maliciously, glaring over at the outraged faces of Harry's Slytherin friends.

'Professor, I can safely assure you that we had-...' Blaise started talking, his Italian accent coming through in his fear and worry. He would never hurt Harry! How dare he suggest such a thing.

'Mr Zabini, I had no incentive or reason to even think you were involved.' She turned around and faced Ron, glaring at him over her glasses. 'Mr Weasley that is a very large accusation.'

'It may be large but it's no less true, they've been hanging around waiting for a time to get back at him!'

Draco and the others were shaking with rage and spluttering incoherent sentences trying to defend their honor, but Draco left the Great Hall before he ended up in Azkaban for crucio'ing the red-headed prick and his slutty sister. He ran up to the hospital wing and headed straight for Harry's bed. Poppy was bustling around, looking slightly frazzled. He sat down and took Harry's pale hand in his own and stared at the Gryffindor's face. He was out cold and ghostly pale. Alarm bells started ringing in Draco's head and he began to panic, swallowing the bile that had risen in his throat.

'Madame Pomfrey, do you know what's wrong with him?'

'No my Dear I do not. I've ruled out poisons but I have to do some more tests. Usually I know right away, but Mr Potter has always been a complicated case. Poor thing, we'll sort this. Don't you worry.'

Draco just sat still and looked at the boy in the hospital bed, and he only moved when a gang of angry and worried teens burst into the ward, almost pulling the doors off the hinges. Hermione marched straight up to the bed and stopped short when she saw how pale her best friend was. She quietly sat on the chair on the other side of the bed and gingerly took his free hand in her own.

'Oh Harry, please get better. We'll figure it out, I promise.' Tears were falling steadily and unchecked down Hermione's face, making everyone well up. Blaise and Theo stood behind Draco, showing their support silently, whereas Pansy had pulled up a chair and was pretty much sat on the blondes lap. Neville, Seamus, Dean and Luna were on the other side on the bed, in a similar fashion to the Slytherins.

'Snape is testing the juice as we speak, he'll know what the potion is within the hour. They know it was the Weasels but it's just getting solid proof before they get tested with veritaserum.' Pansy whispered to the silent group. 'Hopefully they didn't use anything serious, because I will kill them before they get shipped to prison for attempted murder.'

There was a quiet chorus of furious agreement as they continued to stare at their fallen friend. It was so quiet that you could hear someone grinding their teeth in stress.

'He'll be okay.' Neville said softly. 'He always is, it's Harry. Our Harry will never fail. He won't let them win, especially if it puts his friends in danger. It's not his style.'

'His damn Hero complex.' Blaise sighed. 'Always putting others first, even when it's his life on the line.'

Hermione looked at the Italian sharply. 'You noticed then?' She said quietly.

'We all did, we used to think he was idiotic and that he wanted more attention, but as we got older our opinions changed.' He replied simply. 'Now we know he's the bravest of us all.'

'Yes, he is.'

They all jumped slightly when they heard the doors slam, as Snape came billowing in the room, in his usual fashion.

'MOVE!' He demanded as he pretty much pushed the Slytherin teens aside. They scurried out of his way quickly and went to stand with the others on the other side of the bed. It was a bit of a squeeze but they all moved to accommodate the extra people.

He tipped Harry's head back and poured a lime green potion into his open mouth, he called Poppy over and whispered something in her ear, causing the Medi-Witch to pale slightly and take her wand out.

'He'll be fine, but the worst isn't over. The potion used is VERY dangerous in large quantities but thankfully Potter didn't drink the whole amount, he is essentially unconscious but he will suffer through terrible nightmares that will be worse as he has suffered and witnessed much more than your average wizard.'

Hermione and Pansy gasped, and within the minute Harry had begun thrashing in the bed. He cried out in anguish and tears fell from his closed eyes.

'I think you should all leave.' Snape said quietly. 'He wouldn't want you all to see him like this.'

Draco looked like he was about to protest when Hermione reached over to him and put her small hand on his arm.

'He's right.' She said quietly, the tears gathering in her eyes. 'There is nothing we can do for him now, but we can promise to be here when he wakes up. I will be here when he wakes up, even if it means missing lessons.'

She said it so scandalously that everyone that heard had to hold in a giggle, it was not the time or place to be laughing.

Draco took one more look at his new friend, and the others mirrored his action. He nodded once and stood, up leaving the hospital wing. Hermione, Pansy and Luna all placed chaste kisses on his forehead and the Gryffindor boys couldn't help but slap Harry on the leg as they said goodbye. (When I say slap I mean the manly tap that men do instead of hugging)

'Please, please let us know.' Hermione pleaded with the nurse as they were ushered out. Pomfrey took one look at their worried faces and couldn't help but sigh and agree.

The group closed the door behind them, just as they heard Harry cry out again. It was the most heart-wrenching thing they had heard and Hermione covered up her own sob with her hand. 'He's been through so much, he shouldn't have to re-live it!' She cried. 'They will fucking pay for what they've done to him!'

'Yes, Granger they will.' Blaise replied, venom saturating his usually soft voice.

'Even if they get expelled, we will find a way of getting back at them. They've always been arseholes but now they're borderline evil!' Neville growled, his handsome features twisting in a sneer befitting a very angry Slytherin.

'We'll make Slytherins of you yet.' Theo joked sadly, biting his lip. 'We should meet again in the Room, tomorrow at 8?'

It was agreed. The revenge plan would go ahead.

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><p>Harry was able to come out the hospital wing as soon as he woke up, as long as Madame Pomfrey's tests came up clear. It was about 48 hours after the attack when he was finally released but as promised everyone was there to greet him as he woke, so they all left with him. He was pale and his eyes were dark and groggy, yet the fire in them was intense. He was angry, but too tired to even act on it.<p>

They got to the Great Hall just in time to have dinner, and they all felt slightly smug when everyone rushed to Harry to make sure he was okay, yet the two Weasley's were being galred at so ferociously that Harry wondered how they hadn't been set alight. Rumour had it that everyone believed Ron and Ginny to be the cause of Harry's illness, but the lack of evidence stopped them from being expelled immediately. McGonagall and Snape both believed these rumours to be true and they were doing everything in their power to find out how the two red-heads had managed to cover up their tracks so well. It was annoying and baffling to the older and very much more experienced duo.

Harry got his full strength back over the next few days and he took great joy from plotting with his friends. The plan was set in place and as long as it went smoothly the Weasley's would want to leave Hogwarts, expelled or not.

The Slytherins had persuaded the Gryffindors to let them use some very slightly dark spells. Nothing too serious but enough to hurt and embarrass. Harry agreed readily but drew the line at any permanent harm or death. He trusted his new friends completely and he knew that they would never use nasty spells on people who didn't deserve it 100%. Hermione was harder to convince but Neville and Dean (two of the better behaved Gryffindors) had slowly yet surely changed her mind. After all, Dean and Neville had never been in trouble and they were sticklers for the rules. Or so she let herself think.

It started in Potions when Draco, Blaise, Theo and Pansy used their wands to add a 'little extra' into Ron's cauldron. (Pansy had recruited a couple of 6th years to do the same with Ginny, although she had taught the girls a spell that wasn't classed as dark)

Ron had paired up with Lavender Brown who was the only person that would talk to him and despite her new status as 'Werewolf', he seemed to not mind her company. Greyback had caused her some serious damage in the battle before he died and although she had healed, the Werewolf gene had already done the damage and had spread through her veins. She would have been spared the humiliation, but her words and actions were almost as bad as Ron's so she deserved the punishment too.

Pansy used a spell that made the duo lose control of their bladder and Theo threw a tripping jinx at them when they stumbled back with the realization that they were soaked from the waist down. Blaise made the cauldrons tip over onto the shocked pair who had fallen to the floor and Draco couldn't help but move the table behind them slightly so they both hit their heads on the way down. Harry couldn't help but feel worried at the deep feeling of satisfaction that stirred in the pit of his stomach. Neville and Dean 'checked' to see if they were okay and in the process used the distraction to deposit some potent itching powder into their robes.

It had been timed well as at that moment class ended and the two tried to run before getting spotted by anyone else. Unfortunately for them it was the last lesson before lunch and the halls were already packed with students. The Potion made boils well up all over their bodies and they ditched their robes and uniforms because the itching was unbearable. They scurried away to the hospital wing, but not before over half the student population had seen them run half-naked through school covered in angry, red boils. Pictures had been taken and they were already circulating the castle.

Snape pretended that he hadn't seen anything and Harry felt a wave of affection for the usually cold and stoic Potions Master.

Harry and the others found out within minutes that a similar fate had befallen Ginny who was in Charms at the time. There was a blackout in the classroom and a mysterious Potion had been deposited over head in the confusion. She too lost control of her bladder and fell over in the haste to get her now mysteriously itchy robes off her body.

Lunch time saw a group of very smug Slytherins and Gryffindors eating their lunch and smiling at each other from across the tables. Ron and Ginny were no where to be seen, and it stayed that way for the best part of a week.

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><p><strong>AN: Wow that chapter was hard to write! Hope you all enjoyed it and speak soon!<strong>


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